Buddy Thomas: Handing out hugs and missile-toe for Christmas

Christmas may be over but, for me, the gift of giving never ends. So, without further ado, here are some hugs and some missile-toe from me to you — the hugs in appreciation for a job well done; the missile-toes attached to the end of my foot that's aimed at a backside, hoping to serve as a wake-up call:

Christmas may be over but, for me, the gift of giving never ends. So, without further ado, here are some hugs and some missile-toe from me to you — the hugs in appreciation for a job well done; the missile-toes attached to the end of my foot that's aimed at a backside, hoping to serve as a wake-up call:

A hug for Peyton Manning who regained his single-season record for touchdown passes after loaning it to Tom Brady seven seasons ago. And, another one for Brady, who graciously let it go.

A missle-toe for Kobe Bryant, the suddenly oft-injured NBA relic for slowing the rebuilding process of the Los Angeles Lakers with his $24 million annual contract and futile effort to prove he's still one of the NBA's top five players.

A hug for Dustin Pedroia who rarely talks about his contract and never complains about being underpaid even though he could make his own case for being the best all-around second baseman in the Major Leagues.

A missile-toe for Robbie Cano who, unlike Pedroia, is convinced he's the best all-around second baseman in the major leagues and played the disrespect card when the Yankees offered "only" a seven-year, $170 million contract as compared to the 10-year, $240 million contract he eventually signed with the Seattle Mariners.

A hug for head coach Steve Carvalho and his Old Rochester boys basketball team who are off to a 3-0 start and on pace to surpass the best record in Carvalho's nine-year tenure as the Bulldogs' bench boss. Twice ORR has finished a regular-season at 14-6 under the direction of Carvalho.

A collective missile-toe to those who sat in the Dog Pound section of the Old Rochester gymnasium during last week's boys basketball game against Apponequet and spent more time jeering the Lakers than cheering the Bulldogs during the latter's impressive win. Cheering sections can be humorous and creative but there's nothing funny or appealing when the on-duty policeman is summoned to keep the peace.

Another collective missile-toe to those students of New Bedford High and GNB Voc-Tech whose spewing of verbal venom resulted in a physical skirmish while members of their respective hockey teams where shooting pucks during last week's clash at the Hetland rink.

A collective hug for the players of both teams who chose to ignore the on-ice scrum that resulted in ejection (and missile-toes) for five players — three from New Bedford and two from GNB Voc-Tech.

A hug for Bill Kavanaugh, Jr., the Dartmouth High School graduate and assistant football coach at Penn State who was appointed head football coach at Bentley University last week.

A hug for Danny Ainge who appears on the verge of adding a key inside piece that should allow the Celtics to make a giant leap toward making the transition from pretender to contender. NBA contenders are made from the inside out and with some attractive trading pieces and a large collection of No. 1 draft selections at his disposal, it's just a matter of time before Ainge and the Celtics take that "big" step forward.

A collective hug for all of you who have written, e-mailed or called with your best wishes for the Christmas and holiday season. The words are much appreciated.